FBI foiled alleged plot targeting Trump's UFC event, Patel says
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President Trump stands at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn of the White House in the early hours of June 15. Photo: Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images
Multiple people are in custody after the FBI disrupted an alleged threat against President Trump's White House UFC event, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday.
The big picture: There have been several attempts on Trump's life, including a recent shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, as law enforcement reckons with a period of elevated political violence.
Driving the news: Federal officials and law enforcement partners learned of a potential threat from people outside the Washington, D.C., area on June 10, Patel said on X.
- He said that "thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold."
The latest: An affidavit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleged that 19-year-old Tycen Proper admitted to planning a coordinated attack during the event.
- Members of the group allegedly planned to leave their homes and travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia, which is roughly 50 miles outside the district, per the criminal complaint.
- An FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officer alleged in the complaint that Proper told agents the group planned to fly small, explosive-laden drones to detonate over the arena, forcing an evacuation toward staged snipers.
- The attack was designed to "jumpstart" a revolution, Proper allegedly said.
- Proper allegedly named Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) as a "possible target," and sent photos of Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) that "appear to have been taken from the website "TrackAIPAC.com," per the complaint, and appear to include information about how much money they received "from pro-Israel PACS."
Catch up quick: The president, along with members of his administration and family, attended the rowdy spectacle on White House grounds Sunday that coincided with his 80th birthday.
- Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that his agency worked closely with the FBI throughout the investigation
- Five people are in custody, according to Fox News, which was first to report on the alleged plot.
Between the lines: The UFC Freedom 250 event is one of several mass gatherings planned around the nation's 250th anniversary, including a July 4th celebration that the president has pitched as "the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all."
- D.C. security is ramping up accordingly, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reported. Secret Service is taking the lead on the Fourth of July, designating it a National Special Security Event, a label usually reserved for occasions like a presidential inauguration.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
